mv 


'■.'>„  M\ 


\  HOUSES  OF  FELLOWSHIP 


THE  GEORGE  W.DOANE 
MEMORIAL  LIBRARY^ 


SCCIETY  fOB  FOREIGN  MiSSiU;!  W-Lfnilt 
HOUSES  OF  FELLOWSHIP 

6  SOUTH  POnTLWlD  AVE., 

viir;Tt;OR,  H.  J. 


O    MURA    SAN 


MIYAMOTO     O     MURA     SAN 


MAR   18  ^993 


O  MURA  SAN 

WITH  A  GLIMPSE  OF 
THE  COUNTRY  IN 
WHICH    SHE    LIVED 


By 


ANNA  MARGARET  SCHNEDER 


BOARD  OF   FOREIGN    MISSIONS 

REFORMED    CHURCH    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES 

l.'tIM)   ARCH    ST.,   PIIII.A.,   PA. 

10U5 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

CHAPTER   I 

COHNTKY    AND    PaKKNTACK I3 


CHAPTER    IT 

JtlKTH    AND    Clin.lJHOOD 3I 

CHAPTER  HI 
CoNvi'.KsioN  ANij  I"'aklv  Hskkulness    55 

CIIAI'TI'.I';    IV 
Markiack  anu   I  loM  !•;  Lii'i-: "j-j 

CHAPTIiR  V 
Last    Days 97 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE. 

Frontispiece — Miyamoto  O  Mura  San. 

Matsushinui    Bay 12 

Shiogama     14 

View   of   Sendai 15 

Shop  of  the  Miyamoto.s 23 

The   Boys'   Festival 27 

Doll    Festival yj 

First  Lord  of  Sendai 41 

Ilachiman    Shrine 45 

Sacred  Water  Fall 49 

Famous    Corner    House 57 

The  IMain  Street,  Kokubuncho 58 

House  where  Mr.  Oshikawa   Preached 61 

The  Miyamoto  Family;  Omurasan  on  the  Right....  62 

The  First  Home  of  the  Girls'  School 65 

l'"irst  Graduates  of  the  Girls'  School;  Omurasan  on 

the    Right G7 

(Ji'ukisan  and  ()mura>an  with   Miss  [Jallowell 6y 

Rev.    S.    Yoshiniura 77 

l''irst     Church     Ihiildin.i;,     Sendai,    Furchased     from 

Buddhists  in    1SS7.      ICxterior 81 

.Xihancho  Church  and    I'arsonage 84 

.Mr.  \'iishinnn\i.   Wife  and    P.ahy 87 

Omurasan  Ser\  ing  Cakes  and   Tea  to  a  Caller gr 

Baby    Kiyo.shi 100 

Grave   of   Omurasan 103 

Husband   and  Children 103 

"(ii)d  has  been  good  to  us,  mother" 106 


PREFACE 


Tlic  life  wliose  stf^ry  is  l)ricfly  told  in  tlic 
following  ])a|L;t's  seems,  to  the  writer,  to  have 
been  too  rare  to  1)e  left  to  oblivion.  This 
simple  narrative  of  facts  is  written  with  the 
donble  hope  that  it  may  enconrage  others 
even  in  Christian  lands  to  a  greater  zeal,  and 
that  it  mav  be  the  means  of  awakening  a 
dee])er  interest  in  Japan  and  the  work  of 
bringing  that  great  nation  into  the  KingcUjm 
of  God.  A.  M.  S. 

Skndai,  Japan-,   Angnst,    1905. 


I 

COUNTRY  AND    PARENTAGE 


I 

Country  and  Parentage 

THE  L'il\-  of  Sciulai,  which  Hcs  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  coast  on  the  east 
side  of  North  Japan,  is  seldom  visited 
by  travellers.  Those  who  do  come  are  inter- 
ested not  so  much  in  the  city  itself  as  in  the 
quiet  little  Bay  of  Matsushima  near  by,  which 
is  called  by  the  Japanese  themselves  one  of 
the  three  most  beautiful  spots  in  all  their 
beautiful  country.  Here  the  sea  has  carved 
out  of  the  soft  yellow  rock  hundreds  of  curious 
little  islands,  most  of  which  are  covered  with 
pines.  The  name  Matsu-shima  means  Pine- 
islands.  At  the  end  of  one  of  the  inlets  may 
be  found  the  town  of  Sliio_2;ama.  the  seaport 
of  Sendai.  This  is  the  i^ate  throui^h  which 
most  of  the  travellers  from  the  south  used  to 
enter  the  city.  Now  they  i^o  direct  by  rail- 
road; Init  still  the  journey  is  a  tedious  one, 
twelve  hotu's  bcin^-  rc(|tiircd  to  cover  the  tw'o 
hundred  and  tliirt\'-three  miles  from  Yoko- 
hama to  vScndai. 


O    MURA    SAN. 


The  city  itself  is  pretty,  and  well  worth 
visiting.  It  is  set  jnst  where  the  Hirose  River 
runs  out  from  between  the  mountains  and 
hills,  and  begins  its  more  sedate  course  over 
the  great,  fertile  plain  of  Miyagi,  down  to  the 
ocean,  whose  roaring  may  be  heard   plainly 


^                                                      •*> 

^m 

p^^l^r^ 

<I1I(.)GAMA. 


from  the  streets  when  there  is  not  too  much 
other  noise.  Back  of  the  river,  which  half 
encircles  the  city  on  the  side  toward  the 
mountains,  are  high  bluffs  and  hills,  from 
which  one  mav  look  over  the  city  and  the 
plain  to  the  blue  Pacific  beyond.  Seen  from 
one  of  the  bluffs,  most  of  the  low  houses  and 
[14] 


O    MU  RA    SAN. 


narrow  streets  of  the  city  are  hidden  by  the 
numerons  trees  for  wliicli  Sendai  is  famous. 
Here  are  the  shops  and  lionies  of  eighty-five 
thousand  people;  for  Senchii  is  the  largest 
city  north  of  Tokyo. 

In  this  city  there  lived,  about  fifty  years 
ago,  a  family  by  the  name  of  Miyamoto.  The 
Miyamotos  were  well-to-do,  and  dwelt  on  one 
of  the  main  streets,  called  Omachi.  They  had 
but  one  child,  a  daughter;  and  in  order  to 
keep  up  the  family  name,  they  had  adopted 
a  son  from  another  family,  who  was  to  become 
her  husband.  It  was  th-e  custom  in  such  a 
case  to  select  a  little  boy,  adopt  him  into  the 
family,  and  let  him  and  the  daughter,  who 
was  to  become  his  wife,  grow  up  together  as 
brother  and  sister,  until  a  marriageable  age 
was  reached.  Even  today  some  such  matches 
are  still  made.  When  the  proj)er  time  came, 
the  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miyamoto  was 
married  to  the  Noung  man  whom  her  parents 
had  selected  for  her.  I  b)\\e\'er,  their  married 
life  was  brief.  The  husband  soon  died.  Jcaxing 
the  young  widow  with  an  only  son.     If  young 

i'7j 


O    MURA    SAN 


Mrs.  Miyamoto  had  been  one  of  several 
(laughters,  she  might  have  done  as  many 
other  widow^s  have  done,— cut  off  her  hair 
close  to  the  head  and  put  it  into  the  coffin  of 
the  dead  husband,  vowed  to  his  spirit  never- 
to  marry  again,  put  up  on  the  god-shelf  a 
tablet  to  his  memory,  set  offerings  before  it 
and  worshipped  his  spirit  daily  to  the  end  of 
her  life.  But  as  she  was  the  only  daughter, 
Mrs.  Miyamoto  could  not  do  this.  She  had 
to  marry  again  in  order  that  there  might  l)e 
some  one  to  become  head  of  the  house. 

The  parents  looked  around  for  another 
young  man  wdio  would  be  willing  to  become 
a  yoslii  (adopted  son),  marry  the  widowed 
daughter  and  take  the  name  Miyamoto.  Now- 
a-days  it  is  hard  to  find  a  young  man  who 
is  willing  to  become  a  yosJii.  To  be  a  yoshi 
means  that  one  must  be  the  head  of  the  house, 
which  implies  taking  care  of  the  whole  family 
and  all  relatives  who  may  need  help.  The 
yoshi  inherits  everything;  but  often  there  is 
not  much  to  inherit,  and  sometimes  when  he 
enters  a  home  as  a  yosJii,  he  falls  heir,  not  to  a 

\  i8  1 


O     MURA    SAN. 


fortune,  but  to  a  gTcat  burden  of  (lel)t.  Tn 
the  case  of  the  Miyamotos,  however,  there 
seemed  to  l)e  no  trou1)le.  They  were  sup- 
posed to  be  wealthy  niercliants,  and  foou  suc- 
ceeded in  lindiuL;-  another  liusband,  a  man  In' 
tile  name  of  ( )hashi,  of  h^ikushima. 

In  an  ordinary  marriage,  the  1)ride  has  to 
go  to  the  groom's  home  for  the  wedchng,  and 
not  go  empty-lianded  eitlier.  She  lias  to  ha\'e 
a  I)ureau  fuH  of  clotlies,  so  tliat  on  the  ckiy 
after  tlie  marriage  she  can  make  a  cliange  of 
clotliing  at  least  five  or  six  times.  She  is  also 
expected  to  bring  bedding  and  cooking  uten- 
sils,— in  fact,  almost  everything  that  is  needed 
for  housekeeping.  Of  course,  this  's  true 
only  of  the  middle  classes.  The  father  of  a 
poor  girl  cannot  do  so  much.  Years  ago, 
when  the  bride  was  a  country  girl,  she  went 
riding  on  a  white  horse,  beautifully  decorated, 
and  carrying  a  string  of  l)ells  around  his  neck. 
The  go-betweens  accompanied  her  on  horse- 
back, and  another  merry  party  followed  on 
foot,  keeping  time  to  the  jingling  of  the  bells. 
The  city  bride  used  to  be  carried  to  her  new 

[19] 


O    MURA    SAN. 


home  in  a  kago  or  palanquin,  and  had  the 
same  merry  party  accompanying  her.  Even 
today  one  sometimes  sees  a  bridal  party  of  the 
old  kind,  though  the  horse  is  not  always 
white,  nor  so  elaborately  decorated  as  in 
former  days.  I  have  also  seen  Sendai  brides 
in  their  gay  attire  accompanied  by  a  merry 
bridal  party  on  the  way  to  the  wedding,  riding, 
not  in  palanquins,  as  these  are  no  longer  in 
use,  but  in  jinrikishas. 

It  used  to  be  believed  by  young  women, 
and  is  still  a  superstition  in  some  places,  that 
if  a  girl  had  her  mouth  open  when  a  white 
horse  passed,  it  would  be  hard  for  her  to  get 
a  husband.  So  when  a  miss  saw  a  white  horse 
coming,  she  would  cover  her  mouth  so  that 
the  horse  could  not  see  that  her  teeth  were 
white,  not  having  been  blackened,  as  is  the 
custom  after  marriage.  All  wanted  to  get 
married;  for  it  was  considered  a  disgrace  to 
be  left  a  maiden  lady.  Girls  were  married  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  and  fifteen,  and,  althougii 
the  law  now  forbids  such  early  marriages, 
they  still   take   ])lace   in   some   rural   districts. 

[20] 


0    MURA    S  A  N. 


But  the  educated  of  today  get  married  in  the 
twenties. 

.'\  young  lad\-  who  is  l)cing  married  for  the 
lirst  time  is  usually  (h'essed  in  a  beautiful  black 
crepe,  from  beneath  which  two  while  silk 
dresses  peei).  Her  face  is  powdered  a  snow 
white,  and  her  lips  are  painted  a  dark  red. 
Over  her  head  she  wears  a  hood  called  the 
"cotton  bonnet,""  made  of  silk.  The  bride  sits 
on  one  side  of  the  room  on  a  scjuare  silk 
cushion,  and  beside  her  sits  the  w^ife  of  the 
go-between  and  the  bride's  mother.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  room  sits  the  groom  in 
stiff  silks  and  beside  him  are  the  go- 
between  and  the  bride's  father.  .Vt  the 
other  end  of  the  room  sit  a  few  relatives  that 
have  been  invited.  The  only  decorations  used 
at  a  wedding  are  plum  blossoms,  pine  and 
bamboo.  The  crane  and  the  tortoise,  too, 
may  be  seen,  being  emblems  of  long  life.  In 
the  center  of  the  room  stands  a  ])retty  little 
(able,  on  which  are  i)laced  three  earthen  wine- 
cups  decorated  with  white  and  red  paper,  em- 
blematic   (jf    marriage,    and    beside    the    table 


O    MURA    SAN. 


stands  the  earthen  winepot,  looking  some- 
what Hke  a  teapot,  and  decorated  in  the  same 
way.  The  marriage  ceremony  consists  of 
drinking  wine  out  of  three  cups  in  a  very 
formal  way.  It  is  first  passed  to  the  groom, 
then  to  the  bride.  After  both  have  drunk 
from  the  three  cups,  the  ceremony  is  consid- 
ered over.  The  hood  is  now  removed  from 
the  bride's  head,  and  the  groom  gazes  upon 
the  blushing  face  of  his  new  wife.  Formerly, 
it  was  often  the  case  that  when  the  hood  was 
removed,  the -groom  saw  for  the  first  time  the 
one  who  was  to  be  his  companion  for  life; 
but  such  marriages  were  apt  to  prove  very 
unhappy.  An  educated  man  of  today  wants 
to  see  and  know  a  lady  before  he  becomes 
engaged  to  her. 

The  ceremony  now  over,  the  wedding  feast 
is  in  order,  after  which  wedding  cake  is  sent 
around  to  all  friends.  The  new  wife  has  to 
put  up  her  hair  in  married  ladies'  style,  and 
blacken  her  teeth.  Formerly,  all  ladies  had 
to  blacken  their  teeth  after  marriage,  although 


O     M  U  K  A     S  A  N. 


\cr\'  few  will)  Ii\c  in  cities  oi'  towns  of  any 
si/e   do   so   an\'   loiit^cr. 

lUit  the  marriage  of  Mr.  ( )liaslii  and  tlie 
yoinii;'  widow  Miyamoto  was  not  of  the  ordi- 
nary kind.  .\s  he  was  a  yoslii,  he  had  to  go 
to  the  liome  of  the  bride  to  l)e  married,  and 
there  was  no  bridal  party.  Moreover,  as  she 
was  a  widow,  not  mnch  was  made  of  the  cere- 
mony. Slie  did  not  need  to  change  the  style 
of  her  coifTnre  or  blacken  her  teeth;  for  all 
that  had  been  done  at  the  previous  marriage. 

Our  new  couple  next  settled  down  to  real 
life.  But  the  yoimg  Ohashi,  now  Mr.  Miya- 
moto, found  himself  not  in  a  home  of  wealth, 
as  he  liad  su])posed.  He  discovered  that  he 
had  nothing  to  inherit  ])Ut  a  great  deal  of 
debt  and  trouble.  llo\\e\'er,  being  a  brave 
and  energetic  }'oung  fellow,  he  tried  to  bear 
the  bui'den  now  resting  u])on  him  with  a  cour- 
ageous heart.  I'nt  still  harder  times  were 
before  him.  h'or  in  the  \ear  iShS  the  \Var 
of  the  Restoration  took  place.  .Many  fought 
to  restore  to  the  l''m])eror  his  rightful  author- 
it  \'  as  ruler  of  the  nation.     ( )thers,  and  Sendai 


25 


O    MURA    SAN. 


with  them,  vainly  fought  for  the  Shogun,  who 
was  the  actual  ruler  at  that  time.  The  war, 
of  course,  made  havoc  everywhere.  Where 
once  there  was  wealth,  po\'erty  now  prevailed. 
The  feudal  lords  and  their  retainers  had  to 
give  up  their  power  and  privileges,  and  be 
just  like  other  people.  This  was  indeed  hard 
for  them.  Everywhere  things  had  to  be  re- 
adjusted. 

The  Miyamotos  at  this  time  suffered  with 
the  rest.  They  lost  almost  all  they  owned,  so 
that,  five  years  after  the  war,  they  found  them- 
selves very,  very  poor.  But,  fortunately,  it 
was  not  disgraceful  for  a  merchant  to  work, 
and  young  Miyamoto  now  worked  hard  to 
support  the  large  family  depending  upon  him. 
He  was  not  the  kind  to  give  up  in  despair. 
He  courageously  toiled  on  until  he  found  him- 
self out  of  deep  water  again. 

In  the  course  of  time,  two  little  boys  came 
into  the  home,  of  whom  the  parents  were  very 
proud,  and  the  pride  of  the  grandparents  w^as 
just  as  nuich  in  evidence.  If  you  could  have 
passed  the  home  of  the  Miyamotos  about  that 

[26] 


0    MURA    SAN. 


time,  on  the  5th  of  May,  you  might  have  seen 
two  larg'e  paper  fish,  painted  in  gorgeous 
colors,  floating  in  tlie  air  from  the  top  of  a 
bamboo  pole,  put  tlicrc  by  tlic  ])roU(l  father, 
to  let  i)cop1e  know  that  he  had  two  sons.    The 


TH1£     BOYS       FESTIVAL. 


pa])cr  lisli  arc  images  of  carp,  wlu'cli  tlic  people 
say  arc  the  strongest  of  all  fish.  TIicn'  arc 
bclicxcd  to  1)e  al)le  to  swim  u])  waterfalls,  and 
so  they  are  a  g-ood  emblem  of  tlic  strength 
which  i)arcnts  wish  their  sons  to  enjoy. 

[27] 


II 

BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD 


II 
Birth  and  Childhood 


ONI*',  beautiful  day,  on  the  fourth  of 
April,  in  the  year  1872,  a  little  girl 
was  l)orn  to  the  Miyamotos.  Little 
was  said  al)out  it,  and  no  congratulations  were 
sent  in,  because  it  was  only  a  girl.  But  as  the 
Miyamotos  already  had  two  boys,  they  took 
real  interest  in  this  little  mite  of  a  girl.  As 
was  the  custom,  and  is  yet  in  many  places, 
the  child  was  given  its  name  on  the  seventh 
day  after  its  birth.  The  name  Mura  was 
selected,  and  then  there  was  written  on  a 
large  piece  of  white  paper  this  notice:  "To 
Mr.  Miyamoto  was  born  a  daughter  named 
Mura,"  which  was  then  posted  up  in  the  par- 
lor, wdiere  everybody  that  happened  to  come 
to  the  house  could  see  it.  The  family  call  her 
]\Iura,  but  everybody  else  must  call  her 
Omurasan  (Honorable  Miss  Mura).  Many 
families,  when  a  girl  is  born,  plant  a  tree 
called  "kiri,"  with  the  idea  that  this  tree  will 
grow  large  enough  to  furnish  the  wood  for 


0    MURA    SAN. 


the  bureau  that  she  will  need  when  she  be- 
comes a  bride. 

Now  would  YOU  not  like  to  see  this  little 
baby  Omurasan  take  her  bath?  A  larg-e  wash- 
tub  is  broui^ht  into  ihe  room,  half  full  of  al- 
most boiliui;-  \\aler.  The  little  one  is  un- 
dressed and  rolled  into  a  white  cloth,  and  then 
is  held  down  in  the  fearful  I  v  hot  water  to  soak. 
She  screams  as  loudly  as  her  little  hmo-s  will 
allows  After  a  little  while,  she  is  lifted  out. 
the  \vet  cloth  is  taken  ofT  and  she  is  laid  on  a 
dry  cloth  lying  on  the  floor.  She  is  carefully 
dried  and  laid  into  her  l)rioht  red  or  yellow 
^vadded  dresses,  and  the  two  strings  that  are 
attached  in  front  are  tied  to  fasten  them 
around  the  little  body.  She  is  then  put  into 
her  bed,  wdiich  consists  of  a  single  fiiton,  or 
comfortable,  three  inches  thick,  and  one  of 
the  same  thickness  for  coyer.  Here  on  the 
floor  the  baby  sleeps  while  many  visitors  are 
calling  on  her  mother,  and  perhaps  bringing 
gifts.  If  for  the  baby,  a  dress;  if  for  the 
mother,  some  fish.  Such  visitors  begin  to 
come  when  the  baby  is  only  a  day  old. 


[32] 


O    MURA    SAN. 


W'licii  the  l)al)}-  is  twenty-one  (la}-s  old,  the 
mother  is  eonsidered  quite  well  and  strong" 
again.  So  the  da\-  is  celebrated  with  a  feast. 
The  relalixes  and  some  friends  are  inxited  to 
join  the  famil\-  in  celebrating"  the  occasion. 
|-"(ir  this  dinner,  rice  with  red  Ijeans  is  ])re- 
])ared.  also  sonie  black  seeds  called  goiiui,  and 
a  little  salt.  Some  of  this  rice  is  pnt  into 
beantifnll}'  laccjnered  boxes  with  a  little  bag 
of  the  i^oiiia  seed  and  salt,  and  then  the  boxes 
are  placed  on  trays  and  co\ered  with  hand- 
some, often  embroidered,  silk  or  crepe 
scjuares,  and  sent  aronnd  to  the  friends  who 
]ia\e  ])resented  the  child  gifts. 

W  hen  (  )nun"asan  became  thirtv-three  days 
old,  she  reached  what  to  most  babies  was  an 
important  day.  As  her  mother  worshipped 
in  a  dilTerenl  way  from  man_\-  others,  how- 
ever, little  (  )mnrasan  was  not  carried  to  the 
tem])le.  iUit  other  mothers  wonld  ha\'e 
dressed  their  babx"  in  a  gorgeons  red-tlowered 
dress  and  carried  it  to  the  tem])le,  taking  a 
little  i)ag  of  rice  along  to  please  the  gods 
1)\-  the  wa\-.     When  lhe\'  crossed  the  bridges 


O    M  U  RA    SAN. 


over  the  little  streams  leading  to  the  temple, 
they  would  throw  rice  into  the  water,  hoping 
thereby  to  get  the  good  will  of  the  gods. 
On  reaching  the  temple,  they  would  slip  out 
of  their  wooden  clogs  and  climb  the  steps  to 
the  temple  door.  There  they  would  ring  a 
little  bell  by  a  red  cloth  cord,  to  awaken  the 
gods  within,  who  were  supposed  to  be  sleep- 
ing. Then  they  would  clap  their  hands  and 
prostrate  themselves  before  the  images,  and 
ask  them  to  be  good  to  the  child  and  give  it 
a  long  and  prosperous  life.  They  would  then 
wend  their  way  home  feeling  assured  that 
the  gods  would  answer  their  prayers. 

Parents  who  had  lost  a  child  and  were 
blessed  with  another,  in  order  to  make  sure 
of  its  having  a  long  life,  took  the  following- 
plan  ;  The  mother  begged  from  each  of  one 
hundred  people  a  patch  of  material,  and  from 
these  patches  she  made  a  dress  for  the  child. 
This  dress  was  supposed  to  secure  the  child's 
life. 

Omurasan  is  now  one  hundred  days  old, 
and  she  is  given  her  first  meal,  by  proxy.     A 

[34] 


O    MURA    SAN. 


feast  is  prepared,  and  the  oldest  one  in  the 
house — if  the  grandmother  is  Hving,  she  is 
the  one — eats  the  meal  for  the  baby.  Hold- 
ing her  in  her  lap,  she  takes  some  of  the  food 
with  chopsticks  and  puts  it  to  the  mouth  of 
the  baby,  and  then  she  proceeds  to  eat  it  all 
herself.  This  act  is  supposed  to  make  the 
child  grow  to  a  good  old  age. 

Omurasan's  mother  was  not  very  strong, 
and  could  not  nourish  her  child.  As  there 
was  then  no  fresh  cows'  milk  or  condensed 
milk  in  Japan,  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to 
find  a  wet-nurse  and  give  the  child  to  her 
to  raise.  This  wet-nurse  lived  some  distance 
from  the  IMiyamoto  home,  and  the  mother 
saw  very  little  of  her  child.  When  Omurasan 
was  about  two  years  old,  the  nurse  failed  to 
bring  the  child  home  to  see  her  mother  as 
usual,  and  the  mother  began  to  feel  anxious. 
She  went  to  the  home  of  the  nurse  to  see  what 
was  the  matter.  To  her  amazement,  she 
found  that  the  nurse  had  moved  away  and  her 
whereabouts  w^as  unknown.  Mr.  Mivamoto 
was  awav  from  home  at  the  time,  and  some 


35 


O     M  U  R  A    S  A  N. 


days  passed  before  his  return.  Jinrikishas 
were  then  their  trains,  and  there  were  no  tele- 
graphs nor  telephones  as  there  are  now.  So 
by  the  time  the  father  reached  home  and  the 
nurse's  whereal)outs  was  discovered,  it  was 
found  that  Omurasan's  eye  was  destroyed  by 
a  disease  which  she  had  contracted  from  the 
nurse.  If  the  nurse  had  brought  the  child 
home  for  treatment  as  soon  as  she  saw  that 
the  eye  was  inflamed,  the  member  might  have 
been  saved.  But  neglect  and  fear  of  the  par- 
ents caused  her  to  hide,  and  so  poor  Omur- 
asan  was  given  back  to  her  mother  with  but 
one  eye.  The  parents  were  heartbroken  over 
the  loss  their  child  had  sustained. 

As  Omurasan  was  now  able  to  eat  other 
food,  such  as  rice  gruel,  eggs,  and  so  forth, 
she  was  kept  at  home.  While  her  mother 
was  busy  with  her  work,  Omurasan  could  be 
seen  tied  to  a  little  nurse's  back,  her  poor 
little  head  dangling  back  and  forth  as  the  girl 
who  carried  her  played  hopscotch  or  battle- 
dore and  shuttlecock.  No  matter  how  great 
the  heat,   (  )nnu-asan"s  little  head   was  alwavs 


3^> 


line  iioi.i.  riiSTiVAi.. 


O    M  U  RA    SAN. 


exposed  to  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun.  I  believe 
that  a  large  part  of  the  blindness  of  which 
there  is  so  much  in  Japan  is  caused  by  this 
practice.  But  now-a-days  mothers  are  be- 
giiming-  to  shield  their  babies'  heads  with 
either  a  hat  or  a  parasol. 

The  third  of  i\Iarch  comes.  This  is  a  great 
day  for  little  girls.  It  is  the  doll  festival.  A 
stand  specially  pre])ared  for  the  occasion  is 
put  up  in  the  parlor,  and  on  this  are  arranged 
beautifully-dressed  dolls,  little  images  of  the 
Emperor  and  Empress  seated  at  the  very  top. 
On  this  day  the  children  are  given  quite  a 
feast.  A  part  of  the  feast  is  a  white  wine  and 
some  niochi  cakes  in  three  colors, — green,  red 
and  white.  Moclii  is  a  ceremonial  dish  made 
of  rice  ])aste.  The  little  girls  look  forward  to 
this  (lay  with  much  joy.  But  our  poor 
(  )nHn-asau  did  not  have  this  pleasure.  Her 
mother  ^aid  that  as  they  had  lost  their  money 
she  thought  Umurasan  would  have  to  do  with- 
out the  doll  festival. 

By  and  by  we  find  Omurasan  eigiit  years 
old,  ami  her  ])arents  send  her  to  school.     She 

[  39  I 


O    MURA    SAN. 


finds  her  first  day  at  school  hard  indeed,  and 
every  day  grows  harder,  because  the  children 
tease  her  unmercifully  about  her  blind  eye. 
They  call  her  "Teisansama."  Teisansama 
was  the  first  lord  of  Sendai.  He  had  an  eye 
just  like  that  of  Omurasan.  A  word  about 
Teisansama  may  be  interesting,  l:)y  the  way. 
He  is  buried  in  a  larg'e  mausoleum  on  one  of 
the  beautiful  hills  near  Sendai,  on  either  side 
of  which  are  ten  toml^stones  that  mark  the 
graves  of  his  retainers  who  killed  themselves 
when  he  died,  in  order  to  accompany  him  to 
the  spirit  land.  Teisansama  made  an  image 
of  himself  and  said  that  when  he  died  his 
spirit  would  enter  into  it.  This  image  is  now 
standing  on  a  high  altar  in  one  of  the  famous 
temples  at  Matsushima.  Candles  are  burning 
before  it  all  the  time,  and  hundreds  go  there 
to  worship. 

Poor  Omurasan  disliked  being  called 
Teisansama  and  other  uglv  names,  and  her 
parents  found  it  \er)-  hard  to  get  her  to  go 
to  school.  The  teasing  that  she  endured  at 
school,  and  the  se\-ere  chastisements  that  she 


40 


0 


J. 


THE    FIRST    LORD    OF    SENDAI. 


0    MU  RA    SAN. 


received  at  home  liardened  the  child  so  that 
she  became  ahnost  unmanageable.  Several 
times  her  mother  resorted  to  the  extreme 
punishment  of  burning.  This  was  done  by 
putting  a  little  powder  of  a  certain  kind  on 
the  skin  and  then  setting  it  on  fire  with  a  red 
hot  iron,  burning  a  deep  wound  into  the  fiesh. 
The  mother  thought  this  would  cure  her  of 
her  badness  and  at  the  same  time  be  good  for 
her  weak  eye.  But  many  times  since  has  the 
mother  looked  at  those  scars  with  tears  rolling 
down  her  cheeks,  and  saying :  "How  could  I 
be  so  cruel?"  Omurasan  cared  little  whether 
she  learned  anything  or  not,  as  she  found  no 
joy  either  at  school  or  at  home.  One  morn- 
ing her  mother  said :  "Today  we  must  go  to 
the  temple.  This  is  the  day  for  the  worship 
of  our  ancestors."  Preparations  were  made, 
and  they  started  off  with  their  lunch.  They 
soon  reached  the  temple  and  found  many 
others  there,  among  them  many  friends  and 
relatives  w  ho  had  also  come  to  worship  at  the 
shrines  of  their  ancestors. 

Rev.  Mr.  Oshikawa  and  Rev.  Mr.  Yoshida 


[43 


O    M  U  RA    SAN. 


were  now  in  Sendai  proclaiming-  the  message 
of  a  Savior  wlio  had  (hed  for  all,  and  is  willing 
to  save  all  who  give  themselves  to  Him.  Our 
little  ( )nun-asan  had  attended  a  few  of  their 
Ilihle  classes  wilhonl  the  knowledge  of  her 
parents,  and  the  htllc  that  she  had  heard  bore 
fruit.  A\'hile  the  friends  and  relatives,  both 
old  and  }oung,  drunken  with  liquor,  were 
dancing  before  their  ancestors'  shrines,  one  of 
the  priests  came  to  little  Omurasan  and  said : 
"Why  do  you  not  do  like  the  rest,  and  dance 
too?"  and  threatened  to  punish  her  if  she 
would  not.  But  she  refused,  knowing  by 
what  she  had  heard  from  Mr.  Oshikawa  that 
such  things  were  wrong-.  She  ran  to  her 
mother  crying  and  telling  her  that  she  did 
not  want  to  dance.  Her  mother  then  ex- 
cused her.  knowing  that  when  she  made  up 
her  mind  in  such  a  matter  there  w-as  no  use 
in  trving  to  compel  her.  Really,  w^e  might 
say  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  Omurasan's 
Christian  life. 

Once    a   year    this   public    worship    of   an- 
cestors took  place,  and  on  that  occasion  one 


[44] 


•0' 

1  t:  "V 

'"^^^ 

.m:  ■■    ;•'- 

UACUIMAN     SllKlNE. 


O    MUR.I    S.'IN. 


could  sec  nicii,  women  and  even  cliildren  in- 
toxicated. Ancesloi- worshiji  is  the  hardest 
thinp;-  for  the  Japanese  people  to  i:;"i\e  up  when 
they  want  to  become  Christians.  The  ances- 
tral tablets  are  held  so  sacred  that  when  the 
people  become  Christians  it  is  indeed  hard 
for  them  to  destroy  them. 

Sendai  is  still  full  of  heathenism.  On  a  hill 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  city  is  a  .fam- 
ous temple  called  the  Hachiman  Shrine.  The 
temple  itself  is  not  at  all  pretty;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  is  a  very  simple  affair.  But  it  is  the 
manner  in  wdiich  the  people  worship  there 
that  attracts  one's  attention.  Every  year  on 
the  fourteenth  of  January,  the  coldest  part  of 
the  year,  one  may  see  crowds  gathered  at  this 
temple,  l)t)th  young  and  old.  They  all  come 
with  a  lot  of  sake,  or  rice-]i(|uor,  and  ofTer  it 
before  the  gods.  Then  they  undress  them- 
selves and  pour  water  over  their  heads  and 
down  over  their  naked  bodies.  This  is  done 
to  cleanse  themselves  of  the  offences  com- 
mitted during  the  year.  Then  they  prostrate 
themselves  before  the  gods  and  ask  them  to 

[47  1 


O     M  U  R  A     S  A  N. 


be  good  to  them  during-  the  ne'w  year,  after 
which,  as  a  sort  of  penance,  they  parade 
through  the  streets,  carrying-  paper  charms 
and  other  things,  ami  ahiiost  freezing  them- 
seh^es.  To  keep  the  teeth  from  chattering, 
they  all  have  a  piece  of  folded  white  paper 
between  them.  The  sake  that  the  gods  cannot 
drink  they  drink  themselves.  Now-a-days, 
these  worshippers  are  not  allowed  to  go  nude 
through  the  streets  any  more,  yet  all  they 
wear  even  now  is  a  very  thin  white  gown,  and 
some  of  them  dip  this  in  water  before  putting 
it  on,  so  that  it  fairly  freezes  on  their  bodies. 
When,  last  January,  I  saw  such  a  procession 
it  made  me  feel  sad  indeed.  I  saw  in  the 
newspaper,  the  following  morning",  that  edu- 
cated young  women  were  among  the  wor- 
shippers. This  is  the  only  temple  in  Japan, 
that  I  know  of,  where  the  people  pray  for 
anything  like  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  Would 
that  they  might  believe  in  Him  Who  alone 
can  forg-ive  them ! 

There   is    another    temi)le    on    a   hill    near 
Sendai   where   people   go   to   pray   for   loved 


[4-^ 


4'i 


SACKHD     UAl'ER     FAI.I.S. 


O    MU  RA    SAN. 


ones  who  arc  ill.  They  will  pray  to  the  god 
to  cure  the  sick  one,  and  then  go  and  stand 
under  a  sacred  waterfall,  sometimes  for  sev- 
eral days  and  nights  at  a  time,  neither  eating 
nor  drinking,  thinking  thereby  to  please  the 
gods  sufficiently  to  get  their  loved  ones  re- 
stored to  hc'alth. 

These  things  are  hard  to  see  and  hear. 
But  we  are  thankful  for  these  worshippers,  as 
they  are  the  most  easily  brought  into  the 
Kingdom.  Those  who  worship  nothing  are 
the  hardest  to  win.  Infidelity  is  growing  in 
Japan,  especially  among  the  young  men. 
Later,  our  dear  Omurasan  worked  hard  for 
the  girls  of  Japan,  but  she  was  at  the  same 
time  especially  anxious  for  the  young  men,  as 
we  shall  soon  see. 


51 


Ill 

CONVERSION    AND    EARLY 
USEFULNESS 


Ill 
Conversion  and  Early  Usefulness 


ABOU'J'  this  time  a  family  moved  in  next 
door  to  the  Miyamotos  by  the  name 
of  Kodaira.     They  had  been  attend- 
ing the  meetings  of  Mr.  Oshikawa  and  Mr. 
Yoshida,  had  become  very  much  interested 
and  were  about  to  be  baptized.     They  had 
heard  from  the  Miyamotos  what  a  time  they 
had  with  their  child  Mura,  and  what  an  un- 
manageable girl  she  was.     Mrs.  Kodah-a  said 
one  day  to  her  parents:     "Let  me  take  her 
along  to  the  Jesus  meetings."     "All  right," 
said  the  father,  "you  may  if  you  like."     But 
he  did  not  believe  in  the  least  that  it  would 
help  his  daughter  to  be  a  better  girl.      Mr. 
Miyamoto  was  a  very  proud  man,  and  hated 
this   new    religion,    the    "Jesus    religion,"    as 
everybody  called  it.    At  the  center  of  the  city, 
at  a  place  called  Banana  Crossroads,  where 
four   famous   corner  houses   stood,   were   af- 
fixed  the   placards   denouncing   the   new   re- 
ligion; and  all  who  had  anything  to  do  with 


O    MU  RA    SAN. 


it  had  to  suffer.  Three  of  these  houses  have 
been  destroyed  by  fire  during  the  last  fifteen 
years.  Only  one  remains  to  tell  tales  of  the 
old  times.  Our  little  Omurasan  paid  no  at- 
tention to  these  placards,  and  little  did  she 
care  what  people  said.  The  first  day  she  went 
with  Mrs.  Kodaira  she  was  so  much  pleased 
with  what  Mr.  Oshikawa  said  that  she  made 
up  her  mind  to  try  to  practice  just  what  she 
had  been  taught.  The  lesson  that  day  was 
on  the  fifth  commandment,  and  made  quite 
an  impression  upon  little  Omurasan's  heart. 
She  at  once  made  up  her  mind  to  be  a  better 
girl.  She  now  went  to  school  without  a  mur- 
mur, and  studied  faithfully,  and  also  became 
obedient  and  kind  to  her  parents.  This  all 
began  to  make  an  impression  upon  them. 
One  day  the  father  said,  "Don't  the  children 
tease  you  any  more  at  school?"  They  liad 
been  teasing  her  more  than  ever  before,  be- 
cause they  knew  that  she  was  attending  the 
Jesus  meeting's.  She  was  not  only  teased, 
but  persecuted.  But  her  quiet  answer  to  lier 
father  was,  "Yes,  thev  do  tease  me;  ])ut  thev 


[56] 


KAMOL'S    COKNER    IIOUSK. 


O     M  U  R  A     S  A  N. 


can  otilv  liiii"t  the  Ixuly,  and  not  the  soul." 
The  more  (  )innrasan  ^rcw  in  lier  love  for  the 
1.1)1(1  Jesus,  the  more  she  had  to  suffer.  Idie 
children  \\()uld  spit  on  her,  gather  together 
on  street  corners  and  refuse  to  let  her  pass, 
hit  her  and  call  her  all  kinds  of  names.  When 
they  saw  her  praying  before  she  ate  her  lunch, 
they  \\ould  take  what  she  had  to  eat  and 
throw  it  into  the  street  and  trample  it  into 
the  dirt.  Many  a  day  she  would  go  w^ithout 
food  for  Christ's  sake,  and  with  all  these  per- 
secutions our  little  Omurasan  w^as  growing 
stronger  in  her  faith.  They  only  'lre\v  her 
closer  to  Ilim. 

The  parents  were  much  pleased  with  the 
change  that  had  taken  place  in  their  daughter, 
and  wondered  how  this  Jesus  religion  could 
have  such  an  effect.  One  day,  Omnrasan's 
father  took  a  walk  up  the  main  street,  and  as 
he  saw  a  large  crowd  standing  before  the 
house  where  Mr.  Oshikawa  was  preaching,  he 
stopped  to  listen.  He  heard  men,  women 
and  children  weeping  over  their  sins.  The 
sermon  that  they  were  hearing  touched  every 

[59] 


0    M  U  R  A    SAN. 


heart.  But  Mr.  Miyamoto,  being  a  proud 
Confucianist,  turned  away  with  a  sneer,  and 
said,  "This  reli.e^ion  is  good  enough  for 
women  and  cliilch'en,  l)ut  it  is  of  no  use  to 
men."  Mr.  Miyamoto  was  now  beginning  to 
lose  his  eyesight,  and  dared  not  use  his  eyes 
to  read.  So  one  day  when  he  had  nothing  to 
do  and  was  feeHng  depressed  because  he  had 
l)een  told  by  the  doctors  that  nothing  could 
be  done  for  him.  he  asked  Alura  to  read 
to  him.  She  asked  him  if  she  might  read 
to  him  from  the  Bible.  "Yes,"  said  he;  "read 
me  anything."  And  the  child  read  to  him 
the  fourteenth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  John. 
The  words  that  he  now  heard  set  him  to 
thinking,  and  he  decided  to  go  and  have  a 
talk  with  Mr.  Oshikawa  and  ]\Ir.  Yoshida. 
They  succeeded  in  making  him  feel  that  he 
was  a  sinner  and  must  seek  a  Sayior.  This 
pleased  Omurasan  yery  much.  She  felt  that 
God  was  answering  her  prayers.  She  prayed 
most  earnestly  for  her  parents'  conyersion. 
Her  prayers  at  the  Christian  meetings  would 
make  the  tears  come  to  many  an  eye.     Her 


60 


HOUSE     VVJIKRt     MR.     OSHIKAWA      PREACHED. 


0    MU  RA    SAN. 


pleadings  liacl  their  effect.  One  day  the 
fatlier  said  again,  "I  and  three  otlier  seekers 
are  going  to  see  Mr.  Oshikawa."  Mr. 
Oshikawa's  talk  had  a  wonderful  effect  upon 
them.  Mr.  Miyamoto  felt  that  now  he  had 
at  last  found  his  Saxior,  and  then,  he  says, 
something  wonderful  happened.  "I  fell  over 
as  one  dead,  and  when  T  revived  I  was  happv." 
He  firmly  believes  that  at  this  time  he  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Spirit.  Little  Oniurasan  now 
had  the  joy  of  hearing  her  parents  say  that 
they  too  were  going  to  accept  her  Savior. 
That  week  when  she  attended  the  woman's 
meeting,  they  all  said  to  her,  "How  happy 
you  must  be!"  and  when  she  offered  her 
prayer  of  thanksgiving,  they  all  w^cpt  with 
her  for  joy.  Omurasan  was  thirteen  years  old 
when  she,  with  her  parents,  received  the  sac- 
rament of  baptism  in  the  little  chapel  on 
Kokubuncho. 

Her  prayer  was  now  for  her  brothers,  rela- 
tives and  friends.  The  Tord  soon  answered 
these  prayers  too.  Her  brothers  and  rela- 
tives  and    many    friends    soon    after   became 

[63  J 


O    MU  RA    SAN. 


Christians.  Can  you  not  imagine  this  child's 
joy?  Next,  Omnrasan  prayed  for  her  nation; 
and  did  not  cease  to  pray  until  death  sealed 
her  loving  lips. 

When  she  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  she 
heard  the  good  news  that  Miss  roorbaugh 
(now  Mrs.  Cort)  and  Miss  Ault  (now  Mrs. 
ITov)  were  coming  to  Sendai  to  start  a  Girls' 
School.  Eagerly  she  looked  forward  to  their 
coming-.  It  took  several  days  then  to  reach 
Sendai  from  Yokohama.  One  had  to  go  by 
l)oat  to  Shiogama  and  from  there  to  Sendri,  a 
distance  of  about  fifteen  miles,  in  a  basJia,  or 
rumbling  old  omnibus.  One  day  Omurasan 
was  told  that  they  were  expected  to  arrive  late 
that  night.  The  darkness  made  no  difTerence 
to  her.  In  company  with  a  few  others  she 
walked  far  out  of  the  city  to  welcome  them. 
Mrs.  Hoy  says  in  one  of  her  letters.  "I  have 
alwa\'s  thought  of  Omurasan  as  my  dear  little 
girl,  for  she  was  one  of  the  first  to  welcome 
me  to  Sendai." 

In  a  rented  Japanese  house  on  the  street 
called  Nibancho,  the  new  school  was  opened 

[64] 


O    MU  RA    S  A  N. 


and  Oninrasan  was  one  of  the  first  i)U])ils.  She 
was  very  happy  in  her  new  stnches.  and  be- 
came \-ery  fond  of  instrnniental  and  vocal 
music.  When  Miss  Ennna  F.  Poorbaugh  ar- 
rived, the  teaching  of  music  was  gi\'en  to  her. 


THE     FIRST      lli'MIC     or     Till-;     (,1T;I.S       SlJIil'il.. 

and  <')nHn-asan  became  lier  (hligent  and  de- 
voted pupil.  (  )nc  of  her  great  pleasures  was 
the  Christmas  serenade.  She  and  some  other 
girls  of  tlie  scliool  would  gel  u])  early  Christ- 
mas nioi-ning,  take  lanterns  and  go  from  one 
missionar_\"s  liouse  to  another,  singing  Christ- 

I  ^'5  I 


O     M  U  RA    SAN. 

mas  carols.  The  girls  in  the  School  still  keep 
np  this  custom,  and  there  is  nothing  that 
touches  the  heart  of  a  missionary  more  than 
to  hear  on  Christmas  morning  about  three  or 
four  o'clock  the  sweet  voices  of  the  girls  as 
they  sing  of  God's  love  for  men.  After  the 
song  there  are  calls  of  "Merry  Christmas!" 
between  serenaders  and  serenaded. 

While  a  student  in  the  Girls'  School  she 
taught  in  the  Sunday-school,  where  she  had  a 
large  class  of  boys  noted  for  their  badness. 
These  boys  were  incited  by  educated  people 
to  ask  all  sorts  of  difficult  questions.  Some- 
times she  could  answer  them  and  sometimes 
she  could  not.  Over  her  inability  to  answer 
all  she  wept  many  tears,  but  did  not  give  up. 
She  looked  to  God  for  help  and  guidance,  and 
her  joy  was  complete  when  later  she  saw 
some  of  these  very  boys  give  their  hearts  to 
the  Lord. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  Omurasan  grad- 
uated from  the  Girls'  School. 

She  then  became  Miss  Hollowell's  helper. 
After  continuing  in  this  work  for  two  years, 

[66  1 


FIRST    GRADUATES    OF    THE    GlRLS'    SCHOOL:    OMUKASA.N     w..     1111.    KIGHT. 


0     M  U  RA     S  A  N. 


she  made  known  to  Miss  Hollowell  a  wish  to 
go  to  Tokyo  and  study  music.  Omurasan 
looked  up  to  Miss  Tiolk)well  as  to  a  mother 
and  lo\ed  her  dearl_\-.  Miss  Hollowell  loved 
( )niurasan   too   and    took  a  deep   interest   in 


--^  -.-.'«.'•  ■7-' 


I  \  r  K  I  s  \  \ 


KASAN     WITH     MISS     TIOI.l.i  i\\  I  I  I  . 


her.  She  approved  of  her  plan,  thinking-  that 
as  she  had  but  one  eye  it  would  be  difficult 
for  her  to  marrv  a  man  suitable  for  her,  and 
that  if  she  continued  takino-  lessons  on  the 
piano    she    could    then    be    independent    and 


69 


O    M  U  RA    S  A  N. 


make  her  own  living".     So  she  made  arrange- 
ments for  her  to  go  to  Tokyo. 

Omurasan  entered  the  Government  Music 
School  at  Ueno,  but  she  stayed  only  one  year 
as  she  did  not  like  the  school.  Miss  Hollo- 
well  then  made  arrangements  for  her  to  enter 
a  girls'  school  established  by  the  Canadian 
Methodist  Mission,  as  this  school  had  a  very 
fine  teacher  of  music.  To  pay  for  her  lessons 
Omurasan  was  to  teach.  This  she  gladly  did, 
and  was  very  happy  in  her  new  work.  She 
was  also  much  loved  by  the  girls.  She  was 
passionately  fond  of  music  and  she  gave  her 
hands  so  little  rest  that  twice  they  became 
quite  nerveless.  Later  on  there  appeared  a 
still  more  serious  difficulty.  Her  remaining 
good  eye  began  to  ache.  Miss  Hollowell 
then  urged  her  to  go  to  see  Dr.  Whitney,  a 
well-known  oculist,  wdio  told  her  the  terrible 
news  that  unless  she  gave  up  studying  music 
she  would  lose  her  sight  entirely.  This  was 
a  great  disappointment.  However,  she 
thought  it  wise  to  obey  the  physician,  gave 
up  music  and  was  then  made  assistant  matron 


O    M  U  R  A    S  A  N. 

in  the  school.  A  lady  friend  who  loved  Omu- 
rasan  was  anxious  that  she  should  marry  a 
friend  of  hers,  a  youni;"  man  of  rank.  A  meet- 
ing was  arranged  between  the  two  and  soon 
an  eng'agement  was  made  between  them,  but 
with  the  understanding  that  she  would  not 
marry  him  unless  he  became  a  Christian.  He 
seemed  to  her  to  be  a  sincere  seeker,  but  one 
day  all  her  joy  was  turned  into  grief  when 
she  heard  that  the  night  before  he  had  spent 
his  time  with  a  singing-girl.  She  immedi- 
ately sent  him  a  letter  asking  to  be  released 
from  the  engagement.  He  confessed  to  hav- 
ing done  wrong  and  said  he  never  would  re- 
peat the  offence.  But  Omurasan  said,  "No. 
you  have  been  untrue  to  me  once,  and  I  can 
never  trust  you  again."  The  engagement  was 
then  broken  and  she  said  she  would  never  be- 
come engaged  to  an  unbeliever  again  with 
the  hope  that  he  would  become  a  Christian. 
"If  I  marry,  it  must  be  to  a  Christian,  and  one 
that  has  been  tried." 

Having  been   in   Tokyo   about   two   years 
and  a  half  she  returned  to  Sendai,  and  for  a 

[71  ] 


O     M  U  R  A    S  A  N. 


short  time  was  my  own  helper.  During  this 
time  she  became  very  dear  to  me.  She  was 
worth  her  weight  in  g'old  and  was  ever  after 
a  great  help  to  me  in  my  life  and  work  as  a 
missionary. 

The  ladies  in  onr  school  were  at  this  time 
in  need  of  a  teacher  of  the  Japanese  Bible  and 
nuisic.  OnunMsan  was  asked  to  take  this  ]io- 
sition,  and  accepted  it,  as  her  eye  now  seemed 
perfectly  well  again.  She  went  into  this  new 
work  with  much  joy  and  worked  very  hard. 
She  was  especially  interested  in  her  Bible 
classes.  Many  times  she  wonld  come  and 
tell  me  her  joys  and  sorrows.  She  never  went 
to  teach  her  classes  withont  preparation  and 
prayer.  She  always  had  a  hard  time  to  get 
the  new  girls  to  listen  to  her.  They  would 
talk  and  laugh  at  things  she  said,  and  this 
hurt  her  verv  nuich.  ( )ne  day  she  came  and 
said,  "I  had  a  new  class  to  start  in  the  Bible 
today,  and  the  girls  were  so  bad.  Before  be- 
ginning to  teach  !  did  as  I  always  do,  ask 
God's  help  and  guidance.  I  said,  'Girls,  I 
want  to  teach  you  about  the  one  true  God 

\72\ 


0    M  U  RA    SAN. 


and  the  onlv  Savior  of  the  world,  and  in  my 
own  strcni^th  alone  I  cannot  do  it.  So  T  am 
g'oins;'  now  to  ask  for  His  help  to  ^nide  me  in 
teacliinm'  \'ou  to  see  and  know  Ilim.  T  be;:;' 
of  \<)n.  please  be  cpnet  for  jnst  a  few  min- 
utes.' "  lUit  as  she  ()tTere<l  her  fervent  prayer 
the  i^irls  made  a  i;real  ileal  of  noise,  and  when 
she  l)eL;an  teaching'  the_\-  ])retended  that  thev 
did  not  hear  a  word  she  said.  lUit  they  did 
hear  some  of  it.  because  a  few  weeks  after 
that  she  came  in  \\\{\\  such  a  happy  h^ok  on 
her  face  and  said,  "^fy  i;irls  are  so  mucli  in- 
terested." and  told  me  some  of  the  earnest 
questions  that  they  \\()uld  ask  her.  But 
Omurasan  was  e(|ual  to  the  occasion.  She 
would  i;'et  so  interested  in  her  Bible  classes 
that  she  not  only  taught  them  in  school 
hours,  but  imited  them  to  her  home  on  Sat- 
urda}-s  and  ^-rive  them  s])ecial  instruction.  She 
was  ])rofound]\  interested  in  the  Christian 
growth  of  her  L;irls.  and  it  o-ave  her  unspeak- 
able joy  when  she  saw  them  one  by  one  en- 
tering; the  Church.  She  was  an  cxcellenl 
teacher  of  the  I'ible  and  was  much  loved  by 
the  girls,  many  of  whom  called  her  "Mother." 


IV 
MARRIAGE  AND  HOME  LIFE 


IV 


Marriage  and  Home  Life 


IN  (lie  gradiiatiiii;'  class  of  the  Theological 
Department  of  North  Japan  College  in 
TQOO  there  was  a  young  man  named 
Suekichi  Yoshimnra.  Having  been  a  speci- 
ally earnest  student  he 
was  inuuediately  after 
graduation  made  as- 
sistant ])astor  of  the 
Sendai  Church,  which 
was  at  this  time  wor- 
shiping in  an  old  IJud- 
dhist  temple,  though 
the  new  building  was 
then  being  erected. 
After   he    l)egan    his 


REV.    S.     yOSIIIMURA. 


work  he  felt  the  need 

of  a  wife  and,  following  the  Japanese  custom 
in  such  ihiugs.  made  his  wish  known  to  some 
old  ladies  of  the  congregaliou.  Me  said  he 
feared  il  would  be  hard  for  him  to  get  a  lady 
suitable  for  the  position  of  ])astor"s  wife  to 
conseiU  to  man"\-  him  as   he  had  been  a  poor 


O    MURA    SAN. 


boy  and  had  worked  his  way  through  college 
by  serving  in  the  Industrial  Home.  Educated 
ladies  aspired  to  something  higher  than  being 
merely  the  wife  of  a  despised  Jesus  preacher. 
But  one  day  his  heart  was  made  glad  by  the 
news  that  Miss  Mura  Miyamoto  had  consent- 
ed to  be  his  wife.  She  had  known  him  many 
years,  seen  how  he  worked  and  struggled  to 
get  his  education,  and  admired  his  earnest- 
ness. But  above  all  did  she  prize  his  beautiful 
Christian  character.  When  she  was  asked  to 
marry  him  she  came  and  asked  me  whether  I 
thought  she  was  worthy  to  be  the  wife  of  a 
pastor.  She  said,  "I  know  that  a  pastor's  sal- 
ary is  small  and  that  it  is  not  an  easy  thing 
to  get  along,  but  if  you  think  me  worthy  and 
Mr.  Yoshimura  thinks  me  worthy,  I  am  will- 
ing to  become  his  wife  and  help  him  bear  the 
trials  that  may  come  to  him  in  life."  I  said, 
"Omurasan,  if  you  are  not  worthy,  then  no 
one  is.  You  can  be  a  great  help  to  him  and 
give  him  much  joy  in  the  life-work  which  he 
has  undertaken." 


[78 


O    M  U  R  A    S  A  N. 

Arrangements  were  then  made  for  them  to 
meet  and  speak  with  each  other,  and  the  day 
was  selected  on  which  the  engagement  shonld 
be  made  l)in(hng.  An  engagement  is  not 
considered  complete  nntil  a  gift  of  a  dress  or 
obi  (sash)  has  been  presented  to  the  lady  by 
the  gentleman  and  carried  to  the  lady  by  the 
go-between.  This  took  place  on  the  eighth 
of  May.  Mr.  Yoshimura  presented  his  in- 
tended wife  with  a  dress.  He  was  now  very 
happy  in  the  love  reciprocated  by  his  chosen 
one.  Soon  after  the  engagement  he  called  to 
see  her.  Her  home  was  then  at  the  Miyagi 
Girls'  School,  and  in  the  reception-room  they 
had  a  qniet  little  talk  together.  Just  before 
leaving  he  asked  her  to  play  on  the  piano  for 
him.  Her  selection  was  "The  Storm,"  a  piece 
which  she  had  often  played  for  me  and  of 
w  hicli  I  was  very  fond.  She  said,  "You  know, 
dear,  that  you  and  1  will  have  to  pass  through 
many  storhis.  but  after  the  storm  comes 
])eacc  and  calm." 

One  day  she  made  him  a  gift  of  a  sprig  of 


79 


0    MU  RA    SAN. 


evergreen  and  a  few  violets.  The  violet  was 
her  favorite  flower  and  the  evergreen  meant 
that  her  love  for  him  was  nnchangeable. 
These  tokens  of  love  that  she  showed  him 
from  time  to  time  moved  him  to  write  these 
words  in  his  diary  one  day :  "How  strong  is 
the  power  of  love!  True  love  can  be  broken 
bv  no  man."  Her  love  letters  to  him  are  all 
written  in  the  English  language  and  are  full 
of  encouraging  words.  Once  some  one  must 
have  criticised  him,  for  in  one  of  her  letters 
she  savs :  'T  do  not  care  what  people  say.  The 
more  they  say  against  you  the  better  I  love 
you." 

So  as  the  days  went  by  the  love  of  these 
two  grew  stronger  and  stronger  until  one 
evening,  the  fifteenth  of  September,  they 
were  made  one.  Dr.  Schneder  had  the  privi- 
lege of  performing  the  ceremony  and  I  that 
of  making  the  wedding  supper.  This  was  the 
last  wedding  ceremony  performed  in  the  old 
lUiddliist  tem])le.  Soon  after  it  was  torn  down 
and  the  best  of  its  timl)ers  used  in  putting  up 


[80] 


0    MU  R  A    SAN. 


the  parsonage  that  the  TTanck  sisters,  of 
Frederick,  Maryland,  hel])ed  to  l)uild.  (  )nui- 
rasan  was  \ery  dee])ly  interested  in  llie  l)nild- 
in^'  (if  the  new  ehnreh  and  lier  one  regret  was 
tliat   it  was  not  finished  in   time  for  her  wed- 


FIRST     CIIUUCII     BUILDING,     SENDAI,     PURCIIASKD    FROM     BUDDHISTS     IN 
1887.         EXTERIOR. 

(h'ng.     Slie  wanted  hers  to  l)e  the  first  wed- 
(h'ng  in  tlie  new  clun^ch. 

Mr.  \'()shinun'a"s  s;darv  being  onl\-  twenty- 
two  yen,  or  elexen  .\nieriean  dohrn's  per 
month,  he  eonld  not  afford  to  rent  a  lionse  for 
himself   and    l)ride,    and    so    one   Httle    room, 

[81  1 


O    M  U RA    SAN. 


twelve  by  nine,  with  a  little  kitchen,  six  by 
three,  was  rented,  with  nothing  but  the  paper 
doors  to  protect  them  from  the  cold  winter 
winds,  the  room  not  having  the  usual  wooden 
doors  for  closing  up  at  night.  This  small 
room  was  fixed  up  by  Omurasan's  dainty 
hands  wath  so  much  taste,  and  made  to  look 
so  comfortable  and  cozy  that  one  forgot  its 
smallness  and  remembered  only  the  happy 
faces  that  welcomed  everybody  into  it.  A 
palace  could  not  have  afforded  more  joy  than 
these  two  found  in  their  little  rocm.  Omu- 
rasan  did  not  give  up  her  teaching  in  the  Girls' 
School,  as  she  felt  that  she  must  help  her  hus- 
band all  she  could.  So  every  morning  early 
she  was  up  preparing  the  breakfast  and  also 
the  dinner  for  the  day,  and  attending  to  all 
other  things  that  had  to  be  done  before  leav- 
ing for  school.  As  they  lived  seven  squares 
from  the  school  and  as  she  was  on  duty  at 
eight  o'clock,  she  found  it  hard  to  get  all  her 
work  done  before  leaving.  Mr.  Yoshimura, 
who  wanted  to  be  kind  to  her,  helped  her  by 
drawing  the  water,  bringing  in  the  charcoal, 


O    M  U  RA    S  A  N. 


and  doing  other  little  things.  This  kindness 
created  gossip.  It  was  such  an  unusual  sight 
to  see  a  husband  helping  his  wife,  and  the  un- 
believing wives  around  began  to  criticise  and 
said  that  Mr.  Yoshimura  and  his  wife  were 
too  affectionate.  They  talked  to  her  about 
it  and  also  to  her  father.  So  one  day  she 
came  to  me  and  said,  "What  shall  I  do?  I 
can  not  bear  to  be  talked  about,  and  yet  my 
husband  says  that  he  does  not  care  what  peo- 
ple say;  that  if  he  wants  to  be  kind  to  his  wife 
it  is  nobody's  business,  and  that  it  is  for  us 
to  set  an  example  of  how  a  Christian  family 
should  live."  1  said,  "Your  husband  is  right." 
The  gossipers  soon  saw  that  this  talk  could 
not  change  the  home  life  of  the  new  couple 
and  they  began  to  look  upon  them  with  ad- 
miration and  envy. 

In  the  spring  of  1901,  about  the  middle  of 
April,  the  new  parsonage  was  completed,  and 
the  young  minister  and  his  wife  moved  into  it. 
They  found  it  a  great  change.  Omurasan 
was  delighted  with  the  new  home  and  kept  it 
in  perfect  order.    She  was  an  excellent  house- 

[83] 


0     M  U  R  A    S  A  N 


keeper  and  a  prudent  manager.  She  could 
make  a  ver}-  little  go  very  far,  and  would 
"conjure  nice  things  cmt  of  nothing,"  as  we 
used  to  say.  She  had  g'ood  taste  as  well  as 
o-ood  common  sense.     Few  American  women 


r,  fi  fi 

•nt    tt   »S 


NIBANCHO      CHURCH      AND      PARSONAGE. 

could  equal  her.  As  a  wife  she  was  every- 
thing a  husband  could  wish.  She  was  always 
loving  and  kind,  and  ever  mindful  of  his 
health  and  comfort.  When  discouragements 
and  troubles  came  she  was  ahvays  ready  with 


84 


0    MU  RA    SAN 


eiicoiiragiiii;"  words  of  sympathy.  Even 
though  at  limes  ahiiost  too  sick  or  tired  to 
hold  u[)  her  head  she  was  ahvays  in  her  pew. 
Iler  face  cheered  and  helped  him;  for  she  was 
iiis  most  attentive  listener.  \'et  she  was  also 
his  severest  critic,  but  he  ahvays  lo6ked  for- 
ward to  her  criticisms  with  so  much  joy  that 
he  could  liardl)-  wait  to  get  home  after  he  w'as 
through  with  his  sermon.  If  the  sermon  was 
good  he  received  high  praise;  if  poor,  severe 
criticism,  always  given,  however,  in  such  a 
way  as  not  to  hurt.  Whether  criticism  or 
praise  it  was  always  helpful.  "At  one  time," 
says  Mr.  Yoshinnu'a.  "I  preached  a  sermon 
(hat  m_\-  dear  wife  thought  would  turn  some 
uf  the  members  against  me.  i  saw  tha|;  she 
was  right  after  hearing  what  she  said  about 
it,  and  then  we  together  with  tears  asked  God 
to  overrule  what  I  had  said,  so  that  no  harm 
might  be  done.  1  had  spoken  too  freely  of 
some  of  the  church  members'  faults,  and  as  I 
was  so  young  my  dear  wife  feared  trouble." 
C)nun"asan  was  ])r()ud  of  her  husljand  and 
wanted  him  to  be  loved  by  his  people.     She 

[85  J 


O    MURA    SAN 


also  liked  him  to  dress  well.  They  were  poor. 
Although  he  was  pastor  of  a  large  congrega- 
tion, the  support  his  people  could  give  him 
was  small.  But  with  all  this  he  was  always 
well  dressed,  which  pleased  the  congregation 
very  much,  though  they  little  suspected  the 
great  sacrifices  that  were  being  made  by  his 
wife  to  accomplish  this. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  1901,  a  little 
boy  came  into  the  home.  They  named  him 
Shinichi,  "Faith-first,"  and  called  him  Shin- 
chan,  "chan"  being  the  ending  attached  to 
children's  names.  He  was  a  charming  little 
baby.  Many  a  dark  hour  was  cheered  by  his 
presence.  But  the  mother  found  herself  busi- 
er than  ever. 

Besides  the  care  of  this  new-comer,  she  had 
her  household  duties  and  her  school  work  to 
do.  She  had  also  undertaken  some  private 
classes,  which  she  taught  in  the  evening,  as 
they  found  it  hard  to  make  ends  meet.  But 
with  all  the  heavy  work  and  the  responsibili- 
ties that  were  resting  upon  her,  she  never 
wearied,  but  could  often  be  heard  singing  that 


86 


MR.     YOSHIMURA,     WIFE    AND     BABY. 


O    M  U  R  .1    S  A  N. 

beautiful  hymn,  "1  am  so  g"lad  that  Jesus  loves 
me."  She  was  much  opposed  to  havinj:^  any 
debt.  If  they  liad  liad  only  themselves  to 
su])])()rt  thev  would  not  lia\e  found  it  so  dif- 
licu]l.  I)Ut  tlic\-  had  Mr.  Yoshimura's  ])arents 
and  his  niece  dependent  on  them  also,  and 
had  to  help  a  sick  brother  of  Mr.  Yoshimura, 
who  would  write  e\'ery  now  and  then  plead- 
ing' for  aid.  So  at  times  they  hardly  knew 
how  to  manage.  Rut  somehow  they  always 
found  a  ^vay  out.  .Vnd  with  all  her  cares  she 
managed  to  be  an  excellent  mother.  She  did 
not  neglect  her  bow  nor  did  she  forget  family 
worship.  E\-ery  morning  and  e\'ening  to- 
gether they  would  go  before  the  family  altar, 
taking  turns  in  leading  the  worship.  She 
never  laid  her  little  boy  to  rest  without  whis- 
pering a  prayer  to  God  for  him.  She  never 
let  her  boy  see  an}-thing  l)ut  love  and  kind- 
ness. One  time  she  was  severely  tried  and 
her  anger  arose  within  her,  lint  she  said  noth- 
ing. .\fterwards  a  friend  said  to  her,  "How 
could  _\-ou  keep  (|uiel?"  "Oh!"  said  she,  "I 
try  ne\er  to  lose  my  temper  in  the  presence 

[  89  ] 


O    MURA    SAN 


of  my  child."  The  first  word  she  taught  her 
baby  to  hsp  was  "J^sus,"  and  the  second 
word  was  "Papa."  She  always  kept  her  little 
boy  looking  neat  and  clean,  and  spent  many 
precious  moments  in  making  some  new  thing 
for  him.  She  did  not  dress  him  in  the  ordin- 
ary Japanese  costume.  She  felt  that  that 
hampered  the  limbs  too  much  and  did  not 
give  the  child  a  chance  to  grow  properly.  So 
she  invented  a  new  style  of  dress,  in  which 
Shinchan  looked  very  sweet  indeed. 

Omurasan  took  much  delight  in  giving 
him  his  first  Christmas.  A  little  tree  was 
trimmed  and  myself  and  the  children  and  a 
few  seekers  were  invited  to  share  the  Christ- 
mas joys.  She  could  do  beautiful  crochet- 
work  and  had  made  me  a  handsome  white 
shawl,  she  and  another  girl  friend  of  mine 
sharing  in  buying  the  yarn,  and  dear  Omura- 
san spending  the  hours  even  after  midnight 
to  do  something  to  show  me  her  love  and  ap- 
preciation. 

In  the  fall  of  1901  the  new  church  was  com- 
pleted and  was  dedicated  on  the  twentieth  of 

[90] 


n    MURA    SAN 


October.  Soon  after  this  Mr.  Yosliinnira 
was  made  the  regular  pastor  of  the  dnirch 
and  his  responsibilities  increased.  Onnn'asan, 
too,  found  more  to  do.  She  took  great  interest 
in  e\ery  one  who  came  as  an  incpiirer.     Tlieir 


IMUR.ASAN    SERVING    CAKES    AND    TEA    TO    A    CALLER. 


home  was  always  open,  everybody  was  wel- 
come and  a  siuiling  face  greeted  all  comers. 
I  ha\c  heard  church  members  sa\-  that  if 
Omurasan  saw  them  coming,  she  would  run 
out  to  the  gate  to  welcome  them.  The  school 

[91] 


0    MU  RA    SAN. 


girls  who  liad  no  homes  in  Sendai  made 
Omurasan's  house  their  home.  They  en- 
joyed l)eing-  there  and  liaving  a  romp  with 
Shinchan.  Shinclian  was  idolized  1)v  every- 
hody  and  the  petting-  that  he  got  would  have 
spoiled  an  ordinary  child.  But  it  had  no  ef- 
fect on  Shinchan.  He  remained  just  as  good- 
natured  as  before. 

The  students  of  North  Japan  College,  too, 
found  a  home  at  the  Yoshimuras.  Omurasan 
was  deeply  interested  in  young  men,  especi- 
ally those  who  were  alone  in  the  city.  She 
said  that  boys  need  a  mother  to  keep  them 
from  evil,  and  she  undertook  to  mother  every 
boy  who  came  to  her  home.  The  boys  would 
come  on  Saturdays  or  other  days  when  they 
had  vacation  and  stay  the  whole  day.  and 
Omurasan  would  often  give  them  their  meals 
and  still  they  would  stay  and  talk  till  late  into 
the  night.  Mr.  Yoshimura  said,  "They  would 
pretend  to  come  to  see  me,  l)ut  it  was  really 
the  talks  with  ni}-  wife  that  drew  them.  When 
1  would  com])lain  about  not  being  able  to 
spare  the  time,  she  would  say,  T^ity  the  poor 


[92 


0    MURA    SAN 


boys;  they  have  no  otlier  place  to  go  to;  we 
may  be  the  means  of  saving  them  and  of  giv- 
ing them  an  idea  what  a  Christian  home 
ought  to  l)e.  If  we  send  tlicm  away,  they  may 
go  astray  and  be  lost  Hke  the  many  hundreds 
that  are  going  to  destruction  in  this  city  every 
day.'  "  The  city  of  Sendai  is  an  educational 
center.  Thousands  of  students  come  here 
from  all  parts  of  Japan.  These  students  are 
left  to  wander  al)out  for  amusement,  and  of- 
ten get  to  places  that  ruin  both  body  and 
soul.  There  are  also  thousands  of  soldiers 
who  are  leading  the  same  kind  of  life.  Omur- 
asan  and  1  often  talked  the  matter  over,  and 
wished  many  times  that  some  place  of  inno- 
cent recreation  could  be  opened  for  these 
young  men.  where  they  might  also  have  good 
reading  matter  and  where  they  could  come 
into  contact  with  good  Christian  people.  But 
we  are  still  without  such  a  place. 

During  the  summer  of  1902  Omurasan  and 
I  had  planned  a  lot  of  work  for  the  coming 
winter.  She  especially  took  great  interest  in 
the  Bible  class  which  we  expected  to  start  for 


03 


O    MURA    SAN 


ladies  who  were  yet  ignorant  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Whenever  I  had  a  talk  with  her 
about  the  work,  I  always  came  home  feeling 
more  thankful  than  ever  that  it  was  my  lot  to 
be  a  missionary.  But  while  we  were  planning 
work  here  on  earth  the  Father  in  heaven  was 
making-  other  plans  for  her. 


[9-7 


V 


LAST    DAYS 


o 


Last    Days 

X  tlie  twenty-ninth  day  of  September 
another  httle  bal^y  boy  was  born  into 
the  home.  All  would  have  been  happy 
had  his  mother  looked  as  strong  as  he  did. 
But  her  life  seemed  to  be  hanging  by  a  thread. 
On  the  fonrtli  day  a  very  high  fever  set  in. 
We  at  once  sent  for  our  good  Christian  ])]iv- 
sician.  Dr.  Yamamoto.  When  he  saw  the  pa- 
tient he  confirmed  our  fears.  Her  case 
seemed  very  serious,  and  we  sent  for  two 
other  prominent  physicians,  but  all  shook 
their  heads.  On  the  fifth  day  she  seemed  a 
little  better.  So  Mr.  Yoshimura  gave  a  name 
to  the  child.  He  selected  the  name  Kiyoshi 
(pure)  taken  from  Matthew  5 :  8.  and  the 
mother  was  very  much  pleased  with  the  selec- 
tion he  had  made.  She  seemed  so  cheerful 
that  our  hopes  greatly  revived,  and  we  began 
to  believe  that  she  might  recover. 

But    on    Sunday   morning  she   was    worse 
again  and  on  Monday  morning  a  messenger 


O    MURA    SAN 


came  saying  that  Mrs.  Yoshimura  wanted  to 
see  me  at  once.  I  went  up  hurriedly  to  see 
what  she  wanted.  When  I  came  into  her 
presence  she  looked  at  me  smiling  and  said : 
''Mrs.  Schneder.  you  have  been  so  kind  to 
me.  and  I  want  to  thank  you  for  all  that  you 
have  done  for  me.  I  am  going  to  die,  so 
please  listen  to  what  I  have  to  say."  I  said, 
''Omurasan,  we  cannot  do  without  you.  You 
have  been  so  much  to  me.  I  need  you;  and 
your  dear  husband  and  children  need  you; 
and  there  is  so  much  that  you  can  yet  do  for 
Christ  here."  "Yes,  yes,"  she  said,  "that  is 
so,  but  I  feel  that  God  wants  me  to  come 
home,  and  now  do  listen  to  what  I  want  to 
tell  you,  for  by  and  by  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
speak  to  you."  So  she  told  me  where  to  find 
the  dress  in  which  she  wanted  to  be  buried 
and  other  things  connected  with  her  funeral, 
her  husband  meanwhile  pleading  with  tears 
that  God  would  spare  his  wife.  While  I  was 
yet  talking  with  her,  her  blind  father  came  in, 
I  led  him  up  to  the  bedside.  He  could  not 
look  upon  his  daughter's  face,  but  he  took 

[98] 


O    M  URA    SAN 


her  hands  in  his  while  she  bade  him  farewell, 
he  reciting  to  her  a  number  of  passages  from 
the  Scriptures.  Though  unable  to  read  he 
knew  much  of  the  New  Testament  by  heart. 
Then  the  aged,  now  very  deaf,  mother  came 
in  to  say  farewell.  As  they  clasped  hands 
Omurasan  asked  me  to  tell  her  mother  her 
last  words.  This  I  did  through  an  ear  trum- 
pet. Afterwards  she  bade  farewell  to  her 
brother  and  her  sister-in-law  and  a  few  rela- 
tives, after  which  she  said,  "Now,  Mrs. 
Schneder,  send  them  all  away  and  bring  me 
my  children.''  At  first  we  refused  to  do  this, 
as  w'e  did  not  think  her  so  near  death's  door. 
But  she  begged  so  hard  that  we  at  last  yielded 
to  her  wish.  When  they  were  brought  in  she 
looked  at  them  lovingly  and  said,  "My  dear 
boys,  I  want  you  to  be  ministers  and  save 
souls  for  Christ,"  and  then  said  to  her  hus- 
band, "Papa,  take  good  care  of  them."  Turn- 
ing to  me  she  said,  "Mrs.  Schneder,  please 
take  care  of  niv  children."  and  then  when  she 
gave  them  a  parting  kiss  she  for  the  first  time 
broke  down  and  wept  bitterly.  She  said,  "Oh, 

[99] 


O    M  U  RA    SA  N 


my  poor  babies!"  The  little  ones  were  taken 
away  and  while  she  was  alone  with  her  hus- 
band the  rest  of  us  were  in  another  room 
praying.  Afterwards  she  seemed  so  happy 
and  peaceful.  We  really  thought  she  was 
better  and  began  to  have  a  little  hope  again. 

As  she  lingered  in 
great  i:)ain,  having 
m  u  c  h  difficulty  i  n 
b  r  e  a  t  h  i  n  g.  she  still 
thought  of  the  unsaved 
souls  around  her  and 
tried  to  convert  the 
unbelieving  doctor  and 
the  nurse  who  were  at- 
tending her.  Often  as 
thev  came  to  her  bed- 
side she  would  plead 
with  them.  She  said 
that  some  one  must  work  for  Jesus  in  her 
place  and  asked  the  doctor  if  he  would 
not  do  so.  Only  after  she  got  the  promise  of 
both  of  them  that  they  would  attend  church 
and  try  to  learn  of  Christ  did  she  feel  sat- 
isfied. 

[  loo] 


BABY     KIYOSHI. 


O    M  U  R  A    S  A  N  . 

Our  <lear  sufferer  each  day  grew  weaker, 
so  that  at  times  we  could  not  understand  what 
she  was  trying  to  say.  On  the  ninth  day  slie 
•could  neither  liear  nor  see  well  any  more,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  tenth  we  saw  that  she 
was  nearer  heaven  than  earth.  She  said  noth- 
ing, but  whenever  one  would  look  at  her  she 
would  l)e  smiling  as  if  communing  with  the 
saints. 

On  the  morning  of  the  eleventh  day  about 
eleven  o'clock,  her  speech  and  sight  all  came 
back  and  she  seemed  strong.  She  had  all  her 
dear  diics  called  around  her  once  more  and 
told  them  that  she  was  going  to  heaven.  She 
said,  "I  have  already  been  drinking  of  the 
water  of  life."  Then  she  asked  that  they  read 
to  her  the  twenty-third  and  the  fifty-first 
Psalms.  After  they  had  finished  she  looked 
around  on  them  all  and  bade  them  farewell, 
and  looking  toward  her  deaf  mother  she 
pointed  up  to  heaven.  All  pain  had  left  her. 
Her  breathing  was  natural,  and  in  this  peace- 
ful way,  her  hand  still  pointing  toward  heaven 
she  simply  closed  her  eyes  and  fell  asleep. 
The  Christian  doctor  who  stood  by  when  she 

[lOl] 


O    M  U  RA    SAN  . 


breathed  her  last  said,  "What  a  glorious  wit- 
ness for  Christ." 

We  now  all  gathered  into  one  room  to 
weep  over  our  loss.  Soon  we  heard  her 
father  say,  "God  has  been  good  to  us,  mother. 
Omurasan  led  us  to  Jesus,  and  now  He  has 
called  her  home  first  so  that  she  can  welcome 
us  at  the  gate  of  heaven  when  we  come." 
Both  said :  "We  want  to  die  now,  too.  We 
are  ready  to  go  any  day  that  Jesus  may  call." 
Then  the  aged  couple  together  thanked  God 
for  His  goodness. 

Omurasan  was  laid  in  a  pretty  coffin  clad 
in  the  dress  which  she  had  chosen  and  hold- 
ing a  white  rose  in  her  hand.  She  was  carried 
into  the  new  church  by  some  of  the  students 
she  had  mothered.  Here  was,  not  the  first 
w^edding,  but  the  first  funeral  to  be  held  in  the 
new  house  of  worship.  It  was  crowded  with 
Christians  and  unbelievers.  There  were  about 
six  hundred  people  present,  among  whom 
were  many  that  had  never  been  inside  of  a 
house  of  God  before.  Many  prominent  ladies 
of  the  city  had  learned  to  love  and  honor 
Omurasan,  some  of  whom  she  had  hoped  dur- 

[   102] 


C.^*CVIb  ■»«»<! 


0    M  U  RA    SAN 


ing  the  winter  to  bring  into  the  Church.  Af- 
ter the  sermon,  which  was  preached  by  Dr. 
Schneder,  the  hymn  tliat  she  had  selected 
was  sung,  "Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul."  She 
thought  this  the  most  beautiful  hymn  ever 
written,  and  often  sang  it  while  doing  her 
work  at  home. 

After  a  w^alk  of  two  miles  we  reached  the 
spot  that  had  been  assigned  to  the  Christians 
for  a  cemetery.  It  is  a  beautiful  place  on  a 
high  hill  which  overlooks  all  Sendai  and  the 
plain  beyond  on  to  the  sea.  Here  close  by 
the  grave  of  Mrs.  Allen  K.  Faust  was  laid  to 
rest  all  that  was  left  of  Omurasan. 

The  day  after  the  funeral  1  went  to  see  Mr. 
Yoshimura  and  the  children.  I  was  not  sur- 
prised to  find  the  father  ill  with  grief  over  his 
great  loss  and  over  his  motherless  children. 
He  spoke  sadly  of  his  loneliness;  yet  he  was 
thankful  to  God  for  having  had  such  a  wife 
even  for  a  short  time.  I  tlid  what  I  could  for 
the  comfort  of  the  little  motherless  boys,  and 
many  times  since  have  I  visited  them.  The 
older  one,  Shinchan.  could  often  be  seen 
pointing  to  his  mother's  picture  and  saying, 

[  loql 


O    MURA    SAN 


"Mama,"  and  then  pointing  to  the  Saviour's 
picture,  saying,  "Jesus." 

A  week  or  so  later  I  called  to  see  Omura- 
san's  parents  to  give  them  a  word  of  comfort. 


GOD    HAS    BEEN    GOOD    TO    US,    MOTHER. 

I  found  them  happy  in  the  thought  that  the 
time  was  not  distant  when  they  too  could  go. 
"And  there,"  said  the  father,  "she  will  meet 
me  and  I  shall  be  able  to  sec  her."  "Oh !" 
[io6] 


O    MURA    SAN 


said  he,  "if  I  had  not  become  a  Christian 
when  I  was  about  losing  my  eyesight,  I 
should  have  committed  suicide.  I  could  not 
have  endured  it.  But  my  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  keeps  me  happy  now  and  I  am 
comforted  by  the  thought  that  I  shall  be  blind 
only  for  a  while." 

The  father  just  before  Omurasan's  death 
was  teaching  a  large  Bible  class  consisting 
mainly  of  the  clerks  of  a  dry  goods  store.  Be- 
cause they  were  busy  during  the  day  he  taught 
them  after  nine  or  ten  o'clock  at  night.  From 
these  classes  he  always  returned  so  happy 
that  he  found  it  difficult  to  sleep.  Growing 
weakness  at  last  compelled  him  to  give  up  the 
work.  Through  him  one  of  his  nephews  was 
converted,  who  has  since  been  the  mayor  of 
Fukushima  and  is  now  one  of  our  most  active 
workers  in  the  Church  there.  The  mother  is 
one  of  our  stand-bys  at  all  women's  meetings. 

My  dear  Christian  friends,  when  we  think 
of  this  dear  old  couple,  and  of  the  saintly  life 
of  Omurasan,  must  we  not  say  that  it  is  in- 
deed worth  while  to  work  for  the  salvation  of 
Japan? 

[T07I 


